Eze

Emerge from the trail at the Porte des Maures gate — three steps inside and you are swallowed into the medieval labyrinth. Climb Rue du Barri past the 12th-century Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs (the village's oldest stone, exterior only) up to Place de l'Église, where the baroque pink tower of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption rises over the rooftops. Every dead-end alley opens onto a different angle of the Mediterranean, 400 meters straight down.

Tip: Walk through before 10:30 — the first tour buses from Nice and Monaco arrive then, and the single main lane jams shoulder-to-shoulder by 11. The unmarked stone staircase off Rue du Pisan climbs to a tiny belvedere over Cap Ferrat that almost no day-tripper finds — best photo of the village rooftops with the sea behind.

Three minutes back down Rue du Barri from the church — Le Cactus is the wooden door under the second stone arch on your left. A five-table room carved into the village wall where the shop owners and parfumerie staff actually eat lunch. Order the pan bagnat (proper Niçois tuna sandwich on olive-oil bread, 11 EUR) with a glass of Bellet rosé (6 EUR), or split a pissaladière (caramelized onion and anchovy tart, 9 EUR) before the climb to the garden.

Tip: Order at the counter, not seated — service is twice as fast and there is no cover charge. Skip the 22 EUR salade niçoise on the chalkboard; the pan bagnat hits the same flavors at half the price and it is what the regulars order. Budget around 20 EUR; walk-in only.

Five-minute climb up Rue du Barri past the Chèvre d'Or hotel — the garden entrance crowns the village on the foundations of the 12th-century château. Cacti and succulents from four continents grow on terraced ramparts 427 meters above the sea, with Jean-Philippe Richard's white-stone Isis sculptures marking each viewing platform. From the topmost terrace Cap Ferrat curls beneath you to the west, and on clear mornings the silhouette of Corsica drifts on the horizon.

Tip: Walk straight to the topmost terrace first — most visitors photograph the village from below, but the killer angle is looking down on the layered pink rooftops with the open Mediterranean filling the frame. Ask staff to stamp your ticket on the way out for free same-day re-entry; the garden is one of the few places in Èze where you can stop and breathe instead of dodging tour groups.

Re-enter the village from the garden, pick up the Nietzsche trail sign on Rue du Barri, and descend the same path you climbed — 45 minutes downhill with the afternoon light now hammering the sea into beaten silver. At Èze-sur-Mer cut west onto the Sentier du Littoral and follow the cliffs toward Cap d'Ail. The path threads above small rocky coves the locals swim from after work, passing Plage des Pissarelles — an unmarked rocky inlet a kilometer in that stays empty even in August.

Tip: Pack swim gear and reef shoes in your daypack — Plage des Pissarelles has water twice as clear as the main beach and you will have the rocks to yourself. Turn back at the Cap d'Ail town border sign so you reach Anjuna by 19:00 with sunset still ahead, not behind.

Retrace east along the Sentier du Littoral back toward Èze-sur-Mer — Anjuna's wooden deck sits above the rocks just east of the station, signposted from the trail. A barefoot-elegant beach restaurant where every table on the deck faces west into the setting sun. The catch-of-the-day grilled whole (~38 EUR) with a glass of Bandol rosé (8 EUR) is the order; share a plateau de fruits de mer (62 EUR for two) if you are not alone.

Tip: Reserve before noon the same day — sunset tables sell out by mid-afternoon in summer; ask specifically for a deck table, not the upper terrace (the deck is where the sun hits). Budget around 75 EUR. Avoid the Cap d'Ail beach clubs that charge 50 EUR just for a sunbed before you order anything — same sunset, same sea, four times the bill; Anjuna's deck comes free with a meal. Last train back to Nice from Èze-sur-Mer is 22:45, four minutes' walk from the deck.